Columbia Filmmakers Take Home Top Prizes at Sundance 2026

Update: 

This year’s Sundance Film Festival—the last to be held in Park City, Utah before the festival moves to Boulder, Colorado next year—saw some massive wins for Columbia filmmakers, who took home some of the festival's top prizes. 

In particular, Josephine, which was executive produced by Hannah Janal '15, was recognized with highest honor in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, taking home the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. 

According to the jury, Josephine was a stand-out film "for the depth and nuance of storytelling. For the delicate and elegant execution of a challenging subject matter. The skilled direction of performance from the cast. The humanistic view of the filmmaker and how they withheld judgment of those dealing with the impact of victimization. This filmmaker offered an empathetic view into the many different ways we as humans cope and try to set the wrongs right."

Apoorva Guru Charan '18 also won big at the festival, receiving the 2026 Sundance Institute Amazon MGM Studios Producers Award for her work on the short film Take Me Home, which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at this year's festival. Alongside the award, Charan received a $10,000 grant to support her work. Take Me Home also won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in the US Dramatic Category, "for modeling a different way to tell a story," said the jury. "This is a movie that embraced the truth of the moment on set, necessitating the filmmaker be fully present to shift, reflect, and trust her vision, in order to capture the miracle that she did."

The Friend’s House is Here took home the US Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast. Hossein Keshavaraz '05 co-wrote, co-directed, and co-produced the film. The jury shared that, “The ensemble injects the world with gravity, love, and humor, and shows us the way community and connection are often our key to survival.”

The Directing Award for US Documentary went to the film Soul Patrol, produced by Sam Bisbee (CC '90). The jury praised the director’s ability to make palpable, “the trauma of Black Americans who have never gotten due recognition for their sacrifices in war.”

The World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting Ensemble was awarded to the short film Lady, written and directed by Olive Nwosu '21. The jury expressed that the short was, “full of depth and texture and with a rhythm all its own, with an electric ensemble cast that brings life and humor and insight to a story about day-to-day challenges and finding safety in unexpected friendships.” 

Last but certainly not least, the Short Film Grand Jury Prize was awarded to The Baddest Speechwriter of All, a short film spotlighting Clarence B Jones (CC '53), who worked as Martin Luther King Jr.'s lawyer and speechwriter. 

See a full list of 2026 Sundance Film Festival winners here. 

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Original: January 12, 2026

Sundance 2026 is fast approaching and a number of Columbia alums, professors, and even students are set to have their films screened at the event. 

Sundance is the largest independent film festival in the United States and one of the largest independent film festivals in the world. This year the festival will run from January 22 through February 1, 2026 and will feature works in a number of different categories. 

Keep reading to learn more about the eight projects tied to Columbia filmmakers which will screen at the prestigious festival. 

Short Films 

O’Sey Balamma

This short film was written and directed by Raman Nimmala '25 for his 5-12 project—one of the requirements for second years in the MFA Film Program. Produced by Film student Priyanka Krishna, O’Sey Balamma will see its world premiere at Sundance as part of the International Short Films slate. The film follows a matriarch and her housekeeper confronting solitude through the intimacy of each other’s company during the Sankranti festival celebrations. The film can be found here.

Callback

Callback, a short film executive produced by Tony Yang '20, will screen in Sundance's Shorts Program 5. The dark comedy follows Max and his boyfriend, Will, who books a callback for a major role—jealousy, class, and resentment unhinge their relationship—and insanity ensues.

Feature Films 

The Friend’s House Is Here 

The Friend’s House Is Here, a feature film co-written, co-directed, and co-produced by Hossein Keshavarz '05 and his partner Maryam Ataei, will screen as part of the U.S. Dramatic Competition. The film, which is set in Tehran’s underground art scene, follows two young women who build a blissful world of freedom and sisterhood; but when their creative circle is exposed, they must fight to save each other.

Take Me Home 

Also screening in the US Dramatic Competition, Take Me Home follows Anna, a 38-year-old Korean adoptee with a cognitive disability, who cares for her aging parents in a fragile balance of meeting one another’s needs. When a Florida heat wave shatters their family and Anna’s routine, her future is uncertain until she creates a world where she can thrive. The film was produced by Apoorva Guru Charan '18. 

Josephine 

Josephine tells the story of an eight-year old who accidentally witnesses a crime in Golden Gate Park. She acts out in search of a way to regain control of her safety while adults are helpless to console her. Hannah Janal '15 executive produced the film, which will screen as part of the US Dramatic Competition. 

Soul Patrol

Soul Patrol is a documentary produced by Sam Bisbee (CC '90). From deep behind enemy lines, a hidden chapter of American military history is uncovered, prompting the question of whether reckoning with the past can bring peace to those who lived it. The Vietnam War’s first Black special operations team reunites to tell their story in this film which will screen as part of the US Documentary Competition. 

The Huntress

The Huntress, which will be screened during the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, was written and directed by Suzanne Andrews Correa '17 and produced by Assistant Professor of Professional Practice Mynette Louie. The Huntress was inspired by true events which transpired in the border city of Juárez, Mexico. In this city, where violence against women is perpetrated with impunity, an unlikely defender emerges with a desperate call for change.

Lady 

From writer-director Olive Nwosu '21 comes the feature film Lady. Screening as part of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Lady is set in the sprawling African metropolis of Lagos. It follows a fiercely independent young cab driver who meets a band of radiantly reckless sex workers whose sisterhood pulls her into danger and joy, setting her on a journey toward her own transformation.

If I Go Will They Miss Me

If I Go Will They Miss Me tells the story of twelve-year-old Lil Ant, whose spectral visions of boys drifting around his South Los Angeles neighborhood irrevocably change his relationship to his family and home. Lauren Lopez de Victoria '19 was an executive producer on the heartfelt family drama, which will screen as a part of NEXT, a grouping of films distinguished by their innovative approach to storytelling.

Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie

Premiering at Sundance, Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie documents literary titan Salman Rushdie's physical and emotional rehabilitation following his 2022 attack through previously unseen footage captured by his wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths. Co-produced by Mahak Jiwani '18, the film parses questions about violence and forgiveness through Rushdie's intimate narration.

Carousel

Screening in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, Carousel stars notable Columbia College alum Jenny Slate '04 as Chris Pine's high school ex-girlfriend in a sweet, sharp romance that asks whether love is worth upending one's carefully constructed, though somewhat lonely, life for.

Episodic 

Worried

Worried, a comedy pilot directed by Nicole Holofcener '88 and associate produced by Christina Wood '20, tells the story of two siblings who become roommates as they navigate an increasingly bizarre world teetering on the brink of disaster. The pilot will be shown during the Fiction Pilot Showcase. 

Park City Legacy

Little Miss Sunshine

The well-beloved film Little Miss Sunshine will have a special screening at this year’s festival as part of their Park City Legacy program, a series of screenings "celebrating the Festival's rich history and shared experiences in Utah through archival and restoration screenings of iconic films from previous editions." The renowned film was produced by Albert Berger '83 and tells the story of a family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant as they take a cross-country trip in their VW bus. For this special program, Little Miss Sunshine has been restored by Walt Disney Studios "using a new 4K 16-bit scan of the original negative at Roundabout Entertainment under the supervision of directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris." 

See a full lineup for the 2026 Sundance Film Festival here.